Hydraulic ice breaker

ABSTRACT

An ice breaker in the form of a self-propelled vessel carrying outboard thereof, a horizontally-swingable preferably extensible boom adjustable from above water level to below water level to extend beneath floating ice. On the boom are one or more upwardly facing jet nozzles supplied with sea water under high pressure to cut ice from beneath.

United States Patent Worthing [451 Apr. 15, 1975 [54] HYDRAULIC ICE BREAKER 3,693,360 9/1972 Holder 114/40 9 [75] Inventor: Robert W. Worthing, Oklahoma 369834O 10/1 72 Wagner 4/40 City, Okla. FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [73] Assigneez North American Development 266,608 l/l970 U.S.S.R ll4/40 C Ch Ch Md. I ompany evy ase Primary ExaminerTrygve M. BliX Flledl 15, 1972 Assistant Examiner-Sherman D. Basinger 211 App]. 2 0 01 Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Cushman, Darby &

Cushman 52 us. Cl. 114/40 57 ABSTRACT [51] Int. Cl 1363b 35/08 58 Field of Search 114/40-43 breaker the a selfpmpeued vessel 61/1.'l75/18. 115/12 R 1446 carrying outboard thereof, a horizontally-swingable 1 preferably extensible boom adjustable from above [56] References Cited water level to below water level to extend beneath floating ice. On the boom are one or more upwardly UNITED STATES PATENTS facing jet nozzles supplied with sea water under high 3x33; gano 212/55 R pressure to cut ice f beneath. ennett.. 3.688,?21 9/1972 Bennett 114/40 6 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATENTEBAPRISIQYS 3,877,407

sumxura gi g y? HYDRAULIC ICE BREAKER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to an ice breaker and, more particularly, to a sea-going vessel provided with novel and unique means for cutting floating ice from below, in contrast to the usual practice of breaking floating ice from above.

Most conventional ice breakers are in the form of self-propelled vessels provided with sharp prows which are reinforced with heavy plating. The vessels usually are designed to break ice by cutting or fracturing it with the sharp prow or, in some instances. by designing the prow so that the vessel will ride up on floating ice and break or shatter it by the weight of the vessel. While successful to some extent, such conventional ice breakers have their limitations. among them being an incapability of breaking and creating a channel through ice of great thickness. Moreover, such types of ice breakers normally must be extremely heavily powered to achieve the thrust necessary to break ice by the sharp prow either by cutting it or by riding over it as aforedescribed. Another disadvantage of conventional ice breakers is that the channel formed thereby normally is no wider than the beam of the vessel, so that several passes of the vessel must be made to form a channel to accommodate vessels having a beam wider than that of the ice breaker.

Hence. it is an object of this invention to provide an ice breaker in the form of a vessel which need not be excessively reinforced nor heavily powered.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved ice breaker which not only can make a channel through ice. but also can make a channel considerably wider than the beam of the ice breaker.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel ice breaker which not only will accomplish the afore-described objects but also can be constructed and operated economically.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description and accompanying drawings in which:

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1 and IA are a side elevational view of an ice breaker embodying this invention with the ice breaking instrumentalities in operative positions.

FIGS. 2 and 2A are a plan view of the ice breaker shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a reduced schematic view corresponding to FIG. 2, illustrating the range of swinging movement of the ice cutting instrumentalities.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view corresponding to FIG. I, but showing the ice breaking instrumentalities in stowed position.

FIG. 5 is a plan view corresponding to FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 66 of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Referring now to the drawings. there is shown an ice breaker embodying this invention in the form of a barge-like selfpropelled vessel 10 having a flat deck 12 and a square bow l4 and stem 16 provided with rakes l8 and 20, respectively. The bow rake 18 is considerably longer and at a lesser angle than the stern rake 20.

At the stem the vessel is provided with a conventional propeller 22 and rudder 24 which, for reasons later described, are located somewhat forward of the aft end of the vessel 10, i.e.. well forward in the stern rake 20.

The bow 14 of the vessel 10 is cut away at one corner thereof. e.g., at the starboard side, to form a generallysquare well 26 having two flat sides disposed at right angles to each other and to the square end of the bow l4 and to the starboard side of the vessel. 10, respectively. Secured along substantially the horizontal midpoint of each side of the well 26 are vertically disposed elevator rails 28, which may be H-shaped in crossseetion, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 and which depend a considerable distance below water level 30. The rails 28 may be suitably braced by longitudinal struts 32, e.g., I-beams, connected to the rails 28 and to the vessel 10 adjacent the bottom of the latter, and by a transverse strut 34 interconnecting the struts 32. Vertically movable on the rails 28 is an elevator carriage 36 shaped to generally conform tothe well 26 and having a flat top and an inclined bottom respectively conforming to the deck 12 and to the bow rake I8. When in stowed position, as shown in FIG. 4, the carriage 36 substantially fills out the square bow 14 of the vessel 10 to facilitate steerage and movement through the water when not engaged in ice cutting operations. The carriage 36 may be raised and lowered on the rails 28 by any appropriate power-operated means, such as a power-operated cable and winch assembly (not shown).

Mounted on top of the carriage 36 for swinging movement about a substantially vertical axis is the base end of an extensible horizontal boom 38 which may be made up, as shown, of a plurality of telescoping sections. e.g., 40, 42 and 44. Any appropriate poweroperated means (not shown) may be provided for extending and retracting the boom 38, and for swinging it about its aforesaid vertical axis. 7

Carried on the outer end of each boom section 40. 42 and 44 are one or more upwardly facing jet-forming nozzles 46. Although one such nozzle 46 is shown as being carried on each boom section 40, 42 and 44, it is contemplated that each section could carry four such jet nozzles. These may range in size, depending upon the contemplated usage of the ice breaker. from the order of A inch up to 2 inches in outlet diameter. The nozzles 46 are supplied with water under high pressure through a flexible high pressure hose 48, which extends within the boom 38 to its base, and thence centrally upwardly from the carriage 36 to appropriate supply con nections 50 on the deck of the vessel 10. These nozzles 46 are supplied with sea water under extremely high pressure, i.e., of the order of 2,000 lb. psi from high pressure pumps 52, such as Triplex positive displacement plunger pumps. driven by a prime move 54, such as a diesel engine. The pumps 52 and prime mover 54 may be located within the hull of the vessel 10 or on the deck 12 as shown in the drawings. The pumps 52 are supplied with sea water through appropriate intakes 56 in the hull of the vessel 10 adjacent the bottom thereof which are connected, e.g., by a conduit 58, to the suction connections of the pumps. AS an example, the pumps and prime mover would have a capacity for supplying about 5 6 barrels of sea water per minute to a 3/16 inch jet nozzle at a pressure of the order of 2,000 lb. psi.

Mounted on the bow 14 of the vessel 10 on that side thereof opposite the well 26 is a deck cabin 60 in which may be located suitable controls for lowering and raising the carriage 36, for extending and retracting the boom38, for swinging the latter horizontally. and for selectively supplying sea water under high pressure to the jet nozzles 46 carried on the several sections of the boom. The aft end of the vessel is provided, preferably on that side. thereof on which the well 26 is located, with the-usual conning tower 62 containing navigational and propulsion controls for the vessel. lf desired. an uncluttered portion of the deck 12 may have a centrally located helipad 64.

At the aft end of the vessel 10, at the corner thereof diagonally opposite the bow well 26, there is provided another well 66,*somewhat smaller than the bow well. in which is disposed a vertically movable carriage 68, riding on rails 70, substantially the same as the bow carriage rails 28. The aft carriage 68 carries for horizontal swinging movement the base of an inextensible hori zontal boom 72, of considerably shorter length than the bow boom 38 when the latter is fully extended. Carried on the outer end of the aft boom 72 are one or more upwardly, facing jet nozzles 74, substantially identical to those carried by the bow boom 38. These nozzles 74 are similarly supplied with sea water under high pressure through a high pressure hose 76 extending through the boom andto appropriate supply connections 78 on the vessel connected to the discharge of the pumps 52. The supply of high pressure sea water to the nozzles 74, as well as movements of the carriage 68 and boom 72, may be suitably controlled by appropriate controls located in the bow control cabin 60, or such controls may possibly be more conveniently located in the conning tower 62.

When inoperative, both carriages 36 and 68 are raised, the extensible bow boom 38 is retracted. and both booms 38 and-72 swung to a stowed position overlying the deck 12 of the vessel 10 as shown in FIG. 4. The vessel-l0 may then proceed under its own power to an operational location whereat a channel is to be cleared through floating ice 80. At the location the booms 38 and 72 are swung out to extend forwardly and aft, respectively, and the carriages 36 and 68 lowered below water level 30 until the booms are below the undersurface of the floating ice 80. The bow boom 38 is then extended to reach beneath the edge of the floating ice 80, and the height of the carriage 36 may then be adjusted to bring the nozzles 46 into relatively close proximity to the undersurface of the ice, as shown in FIG. 1A. The pumps 52 are then set into operation and the controls operated to supply sea water under pressure to the nozzles 46 on the bow boom 38. The resulting upwardly facing jets of water will cut holes in the ice 80 through the entire thickness thereof. The bow boom 38 may then be swung through an arc to cut the ice 80 throughout the area of the are into various pieces of various sizes.

It will be seen, from an inspection of FIG. 3, that the bow boom 38 can be swung through an arc approachinto pieces to form a channel considerably wider than the beam of the vessel 10, although the vessel will be offset from the center of the channel toward its port side. As the ice is cut the vessel 10 can be advanced under its own power to continue cutting the channel as aforesaid. After the vessel 10 has advanced into the channel the nozzles 74, carried by the aft boom 72, can be rendered operative. and the latter can be swung to cut ice, as desired, in the same manner as with the bow boom 38. It will be seen that the aft boom 72 can be swung through an arc comparable to that of the bow boom 38, and that it can cut ice at a greater distance from the port side of the vessel 10 than is possible with the bow boom because of the latters limited arc of swing to port as afore-described. The aft boom 72 can also be used to cut floating pieces of ice cut by the bow boom 38 into even smaller pieces.

It thus will be seen that the objects of this invention have been fully and effectively accomplished. It will be realized, however, that the specific embodiment shown and described is susceptible to modification without departure from the principles of invention. Hence, the invention encompasses all modifications within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. An ice breaker comprising:

a floating vessel;

an extensible boom;

means mounting said boom to said vessel for vertical adjustment and horizontal swinging movement below water level, said means including a carriage mounted on said vessel for vertical movement relative thereto and further including means mounting said boom to said carriage for swinging movement relative to said carriage about a vertical axis;

an upwardly facing jet nozzle carried on the outer end of said boom;

and means carried by said vessel for supplying said nozzle with liquid under high pressure for creating a liquid jet of sufficient velocity to cut floating ice from below.

2. An ice breaker according to claim 1 in which the supplying means includes an intake for sea water and a high pressure pump connected thereto for supplying sea water to the nozzle.

3. An ice breaker comprising:

a floating vessel having a deck;

a boom;

means mounting said boom to said vessel for vertical adjustment and horizontal swinging movement below water, said means including a carriage mounted outboard of the vessel for vertical movement from a position at deck level to a position below water level;

an upwardly facing jet nozzle carried in the outer end of said boom;

and means carried by said vessel for supplying said nozzle with liquid under high pressure for creating a liquid jet of sufficient velocity to cut floating ice from below.

4. An ice breaker according to claim 3 in which the vessel has a substantially square end with a well at one corner thereof and wherein the carriage is located in said well.

5. An ice breaker according to claim 4 in which the vessel has two substantially square ends with a well at a corner of each of said ends, said wells being offset longitudinally of the vessel, and wherein there are two carriages, one located in each of said wells, and two nozzle-carrying booms. one carried by each of said carbelow water level;

riages. an upwardly facing jet nozzle carried on the outer 6. An ice breaker comprising: end of each of said boom sections; a floating vessel; and means carried by said vessel for supplying said an extensible boom having a plurality of telescopic 5 nozzle with liquid under high pressure for creating sections; a liquid jet of sufficient velocity to cut floating ice means mounting said boom to said vessel for vertical from below.

adjustment and horizontal swinging movement 

1. An ice breaker comprising: a floating vessel; an extensible boom; means mounting said boom to said vessel for vertical adjustment and horizontal swinging movement below water level, said means including a carriage mounted on said vessel for vertical movement relative thereto and further including means mounting said boom to said carriage for swinging movement relative to said carriage about a vertical axis; an upwardly facing jet nozzle carried on the outer end of said boom; and means carried by said vessel for supplying said nozzle with liquid under high pressure for creating a liquid jet of sufficient velocity to cut floating ice from below.
 2. An ice breaker according to claim 1 in which the supplying means includes an intake for sea water and a high pressure pump connected thereto for supplying sea water to the nozzle.
 3. An ice breaker comprising: a floating vessel having a deck; a boom; means mounting said boom to said vessel for vertical adjustment and horizontal swinging movement below water, said means including a carriage mounted outboard of the vessel for vertical movement from a position at deck level to a position below water level; an upwardly facing jet nozzle carried in the outer end of said boom; and means carried by said vessel for supplying said nozzle with liquid under high pressure for creating a liquid jet of sufficient velocity to cut floating ice from below.
 4. An ice breaker according to claim 3 in which the vessel has a substantially square end with a well at one corner thereof and wherein the carriage is located in said well.
 5. An ice breaker according to claim 4 in which the vessel has two substantially square ends with a well at a corner of each of said ends, said wells being offset longitudinally of the vessel, and wherein there are two carriages, one located in each of said wells, and two nozzle-carrying booms, one carried by each of said carriages.
 6. An ice breaker comprising: a floating vessel; an extensible boom having a plurality of telescopic sections; means mounting said boom to said vessel for vertical adjustment and horizontal swinging movement below water level; an upwardly facing jet nozzle carried on the outer end of each of said boom sections; and means carried by said vessel for supplying said nozzle with liquid under high pressure for creating a liquid jet of sufficient velocity to cut floating ice from below. 